On Thursday, March 20, 2008, Jay Leno welcomed as his guest on The Tonight Show the actor Ryan Phillippe, who, early in his career, played a gay character on the daily soap One Life to Live. During the interview, Leno hounded Phillippe, telling him to look into the camera, pretend it was his "gay lover…Billy Bob," who "has just ridden in shirtless from Wyoming" (still milking the Brokeback jokes), and give it his "gayest look."

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

...the borough and its professional team do not have the competence to oversee the development of this significant Montreal territory.

Translation: Yuk!

Much of this driven by suburban car culture. Many of these people couldn't care less if city streets are devoid of life (like the suburbs) as they drive everywhere and only walk around in malls and waterfronts. Condo development is also doing this to urban centers as well.

And we're also under the boot of fucking monopolies up here too, they they know it.

Rogers isn't hated for nothing.

Mandatory DSL line-sharing is a common practice in other developed countries, and was in the US as well until an FCC decision ruled that DSL was an "information service" and not subject to the rules. Line-sharing is what enables much of the competition in other countries and allows small ISPs like Wireless Nomad to thrive in Canada and offer innovative services. But line-sharing has its drawbacks; chief among them, of course, is that without control of the line, an ISP is not ultimately in control of the service it is selling. Canadian DSL resellers learned that lesson the hard way this week as ISPs learned that Bell Canada now runs traffic-shaping hardware even on the lines it resells.

A series of discoveries of ancient bison bones on Vancouver Island and nearby Orcas Island in Washington state is fuelling excitement among researchers that the Pacific coast offered a food-rich ecosystem for Ice Age hunters some 14,000 years ago -- much earlier than the prevailing scientific theory pegs the arrival of humans to the New World.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

An important archaeological find by Broadstairs man Cliff Bradshaw prompted further excavations which uncovered centuries- old Anglo-Saxon graves.

These later finds, thought to be the graves of women from the fifth and sixth centuries, were the subject of an inquest held last week by coroner Rebecca Cobb to decide if the finds should be declared treasure.

Prehistoric cave sculptures never seen by the public will be revealed today thanks to the most advanced, computerised techniques of laser-copying and visual display.

A museum to open near Poitiers, in western France, will span one-a-half millenniums of human image-making, from stone chisels to computers. The star of the show, at Angles-sur-L'Anglin, in the départementof Vienne, will be a 60ft-long frieze of bison, horses, cats, goats and erotic female figures, carved into the limestone of western France 15,000 years ago.

I got the same impression from the trailer, that the upcoming Pixar Film "Wall-E" will be mostly silent.

Pixar is proud of it, and they’ve been pretty open about describing WALL-E as a “space-set remake of a 1931 Charlie Chaplin film about a blind girl wooed by a tramp she mistakenly believes is a rich man.”

Polish President Lech Kaczynski broadcast a video of American couple Brendan Fay and Tom Moulton at their wedding on Poland's national television to illustrate a presidential address he was giving warning the nation that supporting the Lisbon Treaty, which is linked to the EU Charter of Human Rights, would mean that same-sex marriage could come to Poland.

Yup, this crackpot used footage of a gay marriage in Canada, without the permission of the people involved, to illustrate his fears.

"My inital reaction was one of surprise and shock really. Our images clearly were being used in a campaign by the president of Poland against lesbian and gay persons, and fostering intolerance and fear among the people of Poland."

Fay [one of those in the video] submitted a letter of complaint to the Polish consulate condemning the use of his video and expressing anger that it would be used "as part of a homophobic campaign,"

Won't mean a thing to those type of people. We aren't really people with equal rights in their eyes, aren't we? And we're the bad ones....

You Lech Kaczynski, are an idiot. You have no right. We are people too.

Neanderthals and humans once shared a common ancestor, but we split from the stocky, hairy hominid group as long as 400,000 to 350,000 years ago, concludes a new study.

That estimate matches prior DNA studies, putting a date to the time when human beings first emerged on the planet. But would these first humans have been anatomically just like us? Probably not, suggests lead author Timothy Weaver, an anthropologist at the University of California at Davis.

"Early fossils along this lineage are quite different from later ones," he told Discovery News.

I chose to make a video for my culminating task for senior-year (Canadian) Politics class was regarding the war on terror and whether or not it's effective/justified. I wanted to incite a variety of emotions in the viewer while still being educational and entertaining - so I took a porno from '81, remixed it into an an American-perspective War on Terror Porno Musical where the main character goes into trances at the subject of discussion and, gradually, the true nature of the porno begins to rise (especially the ending).

No matter how corrupt and sloppy the establishment press becomes, they always find a way to go lower. Time Magazine has just published what it purports to be a news article by Massimo Calabresi claiming that "nobody cares" about the countless abuses of spying powers by the Bush administration; that "Americans are ready to trade diminished privacy, and protection from search and seizure, in exchange for the promise of increased protection of their physical security"; and that the case against unchecked government surveillance powers "hasn't convinced the people." Not a single fact -- not one -- is cited to support these sweeping, false opinions.

They don't seem to, but then they're not the brightest nation on earth.

Pity America's poor civil libertarians. In recent weeks, the papers have been full of stories about the warehousing of information on Americans by the National Security Agency, the interception of financial information by the CIA, the stripping of authority from a civilian intelligence oversight board by the White House, and the compilation of suspicious activity reports from banks by the Treasury Department. On Thursday, Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine released a report documenting continuing misuse of Patriot Act powers by the FBI. And to judge from the reaction in the country, nobody cares.

A mix of plainclothes and uniformed officers, some wielding shotguns and outfitted with bullet-proof vests stormed an after-hours club early this morning.

Many people were taken to awaiting police wagons in handcuffs as police executed a search warrant at The Comfort Zone at Spadina Ave. near College St. shortly after 6:00.

Police are not releasing many details about the incident other than it was a routine sweep of the club by officers from the Emergency Task Force, the Drug Squad and members of 14 Division.

Authorities have said they will reveal more about the case at a press conference tomorrow morning.

One apparent witness says:

dude, it was not routine!!! there were 200 cops in there, with at least 50 swat team members. They ran a HUGE operation, shit was hitting the fan. 90% of the people in there got charged, all the doors were broken down, walls were taken down, pool tables, bathroom stalls couches - nothing was left unturned. they even had to call in paramedics, people were kicked around, strip searched, even molested. what a horrifying experience, and to think it was our first time in the place after hearing about it for so long...

Update

"Right now, there's nothing to stop them from opening this weekend,"

Maybe, but would *you* go?

Despite 33 arrests and more than 65 drug charges after an early morning raid Sunday on a downtown after-hours club that one detective described as "a flea market for drugs," police acknowledged Monday they are powerless to close it down.

Detective Sergeant Ed Roseto said nearly 100 officers surrounded the Comfort Zone, a rave club on Spadina Avenue that is notorious for open drug use and sales, and began clearing out the cavernous building, arresting patrons and staff alike as they went.

"The floor, the seats, the tables . . . were covered with little vials and pill," he told a news conference Monday.

I often see the news about the war in Iraq, or attacks happening somewhere, and at the time I just sigh inside, reminded how lucky I am to be Chinese, where here it's at least peaceful, at least there are no battles, and people don't have to live their lives in fear of battle! But the riots which took place in Tibet today just make me see very clearly that in fact some people don't want our China to be a calm and peaceful place! I wonder, when people in other countries see the news about our battles here in China, will they feel the same thing that I did when I saw the news on Iraq?

Interesting isn't it, that which we see as repression is seen by this Chinese writer as "people [who] don't want our China to be a calm and peaceful place!"

Why don't these people just say they want everyone fingerprinted and their DNA on record..because that would be unpopular...

So, they'll do it bit by bit..a school here, an airport there. Then will come that time when you will stand out as strange if you *won't* be fingerprinted. "He must be hiding something..."

Primary school children should be eligible for the DNA database if they exhibit behaviour indicating they may become criminals in later life, according to Britain's most senior police forensics expert.

Gary Pugh, director of forensic sciences at Scotland Yard and the new DNA spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said a debate was needed on how far Britain should go in identifying potential offenders, given that some experts believe it is possible to identify future offending traits in children as young as five.

'If we have a primary means of identifying people before they offend, then in the long-term the benefits of targeting younger people are extremely large,' said Pugh. 'You could argue the younger the better. [Well yes, as an underage person cannot stop this invasion of privacy, or even understand its long term consequences. How convenient...] Criminologists say some people will grow out of crime; others won't. We have to find who are possibly going to be the biggest threat to society.'

"society needed an open, mature discussion on how best to tackle crime before it took place"

Pugh admitted that the deeply controversial suggestion raised issues of parental consent, potential stigmatisation and the role of teachers in identifying future offenders, but said society needed an open, mature discussion on how best to tackle crime before it took place.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Join "The Friends of the UnDeer" on Facebook here. Help restore the UnDeer to the level of cultural importance he so richly deserves.

The UnDeer was a Christmas time character for 7-Up, sometime in the 1971 period. It was a spin-off of their UnCola theme.

The UnDeer was a dude in a reindeer costume, sitting in a chair...

"Hi! I'm the UnDeer! How's your Hoofieees!?"

Information regarding the UnDeer on the net is sparse (most results come from a misspelling of "under")...Wikipedia has nothing (*see update below)...eBay has nothing...YouTube has nothing...strange for such a high profile product such as 7-Up. Is it a skeleton in their closet?

OMG, someone has found a UnDeer tv ad. (December 2010)

[Update: a major breakthrough has occurred in UnDeer research, see bottom of article]

Image searches result only in 2 roadkill hand puppets based on now fading memories...

A new search has revealed this from eBay:

As late as July 2010, the Undeer remained relatively unknown as this posting indicates;

Undeer Christmas mascot

Question What year(s) was your Christmas mascot the 'Undeer' and is there any information available about this terrific mascot?

Answer The Uncola campaign started in 1967 and through at least the mid-1970s. We were not able to locate a specific date for this particular piece of advertising that the reindeer appeared on, but think it is probably early 1970s. There are not many examples of this reindeer in the 7UP advertising pieces we have and so we hesitate to say that it was the Christmas mascot of 7UP during the Uncola campaign.

The net is filled with a post here, a post there from people such as I, claiming to have spotted this mythical beast long ago.

"I also remember the voice as being more like Beauregard, the janitor dog on the old Muppet Show" - rodpie 2008

"...but my favorite was the 7-up un-deer commercials. But for the life of me I can't find copies of them anywhere. - Ratt1959 2008

"I remember the UnDeer and he spoke French!!!!" - Carmen 2009

"The UN-DEER is an elusive creature last seen in Canada in the 70's on 7up commercials. has anyone seen him? - UN-Deer Hunter 2008

This last note may be a clue to why there is nothing on the net about the UnDeer...if it didn't happen in America, it didn't happen...[although the audio clips below seem to indicate the UnDeer was known in the U.S.]

The voice was provided by Paul Frees, who also was the voice of Disney's Ludwig Von Drake, and John and George in the television cartoon series The Beatles, among much other work (Craig at WFMU says: "Yes, Paul Frees did both George and John. He also did Boris Badenov, Inspector Fenwick on Dudley Do-Right, and such commercial voices as Toucan Sam and the Pillsbury Dough-Boy" Read more here.).

The voice resembled Marvin the Martian of Warner Brs. fame, which such catchphrases as "Wrong-O!" and "Hoofies!"

Yes Virginia, there really was an UnDeer.

*Update June 2009: Wikipedia doesn't believe there was a UnDeer, as an article on this very topic (submitted by yours truly) was rejected as "an obvious hoax"...

*Update September 2009: Gregory [My original tape was a dub from the broadcast cart at WLAP-AM in Lexington] has sent along audio proof of the Undeer's existence! Actual 1970's radio ads. Take that Wikipedia...

I know this comes for "a new hardline sovereignist group" in Quebec so thinking and logical thought are not options, still...

Complaining Montreal's St. Patrick's Day parade is too English, a new hardline sovereignist group says its members will march during Sunday's event, distributing leaflets and waving Quebec, Patriote and Irish flags.

But parade organizers say the Réseau de Résistance du Québécois is not authorized to take part and they will ask police to remove RRQ members if they attempt to take part in the official parade on Ste. Catherine St.

On its website, the RRQ asks supporters to meet at the beginning of the parade route on Sunday, 30 minutes before the event starts.

The St. Patrick's Day parade has traditionally "taken place entirely in English," RRQ co-founder Patrick Bourgeois told The Gazette. "We want to throw a soupçon of French in there."

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

An Italian team of archaeologists unearthed the bowl goblet in the 1970s from a burial site in Iran’s Burnt City, but it was only recently that researchers noticed the images on the bowl tell an animated visual story.

The oldest cartoon character in the world is a goat leaping to get the leaves on a tree.

Astronomers from the University of Western Ontario are searching for a meteorite that landed in central Ontario last week.

The "large fireball" was captured falling last Wednesday at 10:59 p.m. ET by sky-monitoring cameras at the London, Ont.-based university. Astronomers narrowed the impact site down to about 12 square kilometres centred on Parry Sound, which is around 220 kilometres north of Toronto.

A surprise birthday party for Dawn Wells, the actress who played Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island," ended with a nearly three-hour tour of the Teton County Sheriff's Office and jail when the 69-year-old was caught with marijuana in her vehicle while driving home.

Today, the Senate brought the Intelligence Authorization Bill to the floor, which contained a provision from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) establishing one interrogation standard across the government. The bill requires the intelligence community to abide by the same standards as articulated in the Army Field Manual and bans waterboarding.

Btw, the original story from the Montreal Gazette has a terrible punish headline "Griffintown naysayers arrive by horse".

Such wit.

It's not every day a protest group arrives by horse and buggy to make a statement.

But the Committee to Save Griffintown said last night that horses symbolize the unique character of the neighbourhood they're trying to preserve. For that reason, five group members came in a horse-drawn carriage for the first of four nights of public briefs on a planned redevelopment of the area at the foot of Peel St. between downtown and the Lachine Canal. They were one of several groups that presented briefs or made comments last night to the Southwest borough council at the École de Technologie Supérieure engineering school, at Peel St. at the corner of Notre Dame St. W.

"Griffintown is the place where horses built Montreal," group spokesperson Chris Gobeil said. "This is where many horses live. The proposed project would get rid of all those stables."

The firm Devimco has proposed to redevelop 10.2 hectares of the neighbourhood into a mix of residential and commercial units. The project could start as early as this year and Devimco plans to complete construction over 10 years.

In its brief to the council, Gobeil's group took issue with the development, specifically the plan to built large high-rises, saying the scale of the development is way too large. That point was echoed by several groups, including Pro Point, which represents residents of Point St. Charles who are experts in urban design and architecture.

"The density is way too high, when you can get that same density, as in the Plateau Mont Royal, with three or four storeys," said Juliette Patterson, the group's spokesperson.

However, well-known architect Claude Provencher, disagreed.

Provencher, who designed the World Trade Centre in Victoria Square, told the council that people also said Montreal's Quartier International would be a failure, but they were proved to be wrong. Like the Quartier International, he said the Griffintown development will also silence its critics.

The process will continue tonight at ETS starting at 7 p.m. Additional sessions will be held Thursday from 3 to at 10:30 p.m. and Friday from 1 to 5:30 p.m. at the Georges Vanier building in Little Burgundy at 2450 Workman St. at the corner of Vinet St.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives Education Committee has just approved House Bill 2211. The bill is expected to pass the full House, and then to go to the Senate. Its authors describe it as promoting freedom of religion in the public schools. In fact, it does the opposite...

...The bill requires public schools to guarantee students the right to express their religious viewpoints in a public forum, in class, in homework and in other ways without being penalized. If a student’s religious beliefs were in conflict with scientific theory, and the student chose to express those beliefs rather than explain the theory in response to an exam question, the student’s incorrect response would be deemed satisfactory, according to this bill.

Yes kids, no more need for that pesky book lernin, now just say "God did it!" and it's straight A's all the way!

Almost 50 years ago, archaeologists searching for the ruined house of Augustus found a tiny clue buried deep in 2,000 years' worth of rubble overlooking the Forum in Rome.

The single fragment of painted plaster, discovered in masonry-filled rooms, led the experts to unearth a series of exquisite frescoes commissioned by the man who would later become Rome's first emperor.

It already has. The turn to torture the U.S. has taken is repulsive and wrong, but you'd never know it from this article in the New York Times...

President Bush on Saturday further cemented his legacy of fighting for strong executive powers, using his veto to shut down a Congressional effort to limit the Central Intelligence Agency’s latitude to subject terrorism suspects to harsh interrogation techniques.

Though it is now fashionable to call the 70's a golden age, and it is true many fine films were made then, there were also a great number of films of that period which are unwatchable today.

Unwatchable not only because they have not aged well, but because they are just not available on DVD.

But, thanks to Youtube, fragments are out there. Once such film is Peter Bogdanovich's 1975 cocaine sprinkled masterpiece "At Long Last Love". The audio was captured live, so the singing you hear was live as well.

Thank good it preserves the singing and dancing talents of Burt Reynolds & Cybill Shepherd for all time.

Follow this link to see some samples (the user has disabled embedding)..if you are brave.

President Bush said Saturday he vetoed legislation that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding to break suspected terrorists because it would end practices that have prevented attacks.

Casey Knowles, a High School Senior in Washington state, recently discovered she was one of the sleeping children in Clinton’s controversial “Children” ad appearing prior to the Texas primaries.

Knowles, a supporter of Barack Obama was shocked that she had contributed to the national security message of a candidate that she passionately opposes.

“While I love Hillary, I would much rather hear Barack Obama’s voice at the other end of the phone at 3am. Its hilarious and ironic that the child in Hillary’s ad is now of voting age and not her supporter. I’ve been campaigning for Barack since October and was a caucus precinct captain. I’ve been a very avid advocate of his and recruited a lot of folks to caucus for him in January. He’s inspired and mobilized so many already, he’s refreshing and quite simply the best option for people who want to change this country.”

"The data will be destroyed after 24 hours. It will not be made available to the police or anyone else. This is purely for border and immigration control."

That is a lie and we all know it. And here all along I thought only criminals got fingerprinted. Silly me, I forget we are all suspects now.

Millions of British airline passengers face mandatory fingerprinting before being allowed to board flights when Heathrow’s Terminal 5 opens later this month.

For the first time at any airport, the biometric checks will apply to all domestic passengers leaving the terminal, which will handle all British Airways flights to and from Heathrow.

The controversial security measure is also set to be introduced at Gatwick, Manchester and Heathrow’s Terminal 1, and many airline industry insiders believe fingerprinting could become universal at all UK airports within a few years.

His site says "Cal Thomas is America's #1 nationally syndicated columnist. He also writes for USA Today, is an author and speaker and regularly appears on FOX News Channel as well as numerous radio stations with a syndicated commentary"

What he actually is is another of those hate filled Christian nut cases, who is worried the next generation isn't as hate filled as he is.

He is making sure they will be...

As one group attempts to use California public schools as laboratories to assist children in "coming out" with their nontraditional sexual orientation, another is urging parents to come out from these schools and educate their children with their values at home or in private schools.

Last Sunday, a group called "Exodus Mandate" (www.exodusmandate.org) began placing literature in scores of Southern California church lobbies, urging parents to take charge of their children's education and oppose attempts by activists and politicians to shape the worldview of young people, a worldview that runs counter to what many taxpaying parents believe and teach in their homes and places of worship.

It must be nice to be able to hate openly, and then claim it is the word of God...

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Star Warswithout a doubt. As close as you can get to a perfect movie.The Empire Strikes BackThe epic becomes well, epicRevenge of the Sithand moves from epic to operaticAttack of the Clonesthe move to operatic, with some misstepsReturn of the Jedimade for kids, way too cuteThe Phantom Menacemade for idiots, way too dumb

Worst MovieThat's a tough one. I'm torn between "Return of the Jedi", with its Ewoks, bad overdubbing, and Harrison Ford's appalling acting, or "The Phantom Menace" with its poor pacing, dull characters and JarJar Binks. I'm afraid I must go with "The Phantom Menace". A trade dispute? Fart jokes? Whoopee!

Worst Scene"Revenge of the Sith", Darth Vader's reaction to the news of Padmé's death, a cliched "Noooo!". Awful. Terrible. It made me laugh, not the reaction they'd hoped for I think - Runner up - "Attack of the Clones" Anakin rides the space cows to impress Padmé (this was a contender for Worst SFX). Didn't anyone turn to George and say "You have to be fucking kidding..." No, I guess not.

Best Good guyYoda. Rest my case I do.

Worst Good GuyOther than JarJar? - Qui-Gon Jinn. The man is a slightly unprincipled idiot. Perhaps Lucas knows this and kills him off for it. Face it, the man's choices get them in all sorts of trouble, and he does use a child to raise money and further their cause. Obi Wan learned this lesson well.

Best VillainOther than Darth?...General Grievous, if only for his fighting skills. On this point, Darth Mull would have to be a close second. Both are disposed of far too quickly. Nod to the Senator/Supreme Chancellor/Emperor as well.

Best RobotR2D2. He has attitude, although this was overdone in "Attack of the Clones". Flying indeed. Yeah, I know C-3PO has attitude as well, but he became JarJar's understudy (also see "Attack of the Clones"). Runner up - Jabba the Hutt's TT-8L Gatekeeper Droid. How rude.

Worst SFX"Return of the Jedi" The Rancor. Matte lines a mile wide (sorta fixed in the Special Editions). This scene does provide the pretense for Star War's only nude scene...

Best Cinematic moment"Revenge of the Sith" silent (music with no dialog) montage between Anakin and Padmé. Lucas can do it sometimes.

Darkest Moment"Star Wars" The death of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. Nasty. - "Revenge of the Sith" - The killing of the younglings at the Jedi Temple.

Best Minor Character"Return of the Jedi" General Akbar. It's a Trap! No one can withstand eyes of this magnitude. Runner up "The Empire Strikes Back" Admiral Piett.

Most Annoying CharacterOh gee let me see... The first film's humour was sparse and controlled. By 1999, the part of the annoying sidekick had grown, and Jar Jar is in this tradition. He is also remarkably ill conceived and irritating. Didn't anyone turn to George and say "You have to be fucking kidding..." Oh right, I asked that already. Runner up - "Star Wars". Luke whining about power converters, and those bloody Ewoks (Return of the Jedi)..Leia would be here but she is no longer viewed as a "bitch", in 1977 the most common word used to describe her.

Creepiest Plot ElementThe Anakin/Padimai romance, especially the early period (later it just gets unbelievable). Runner up - Luke/Leia, brother/sister. No matter what Lucas claims, "Star Wars" gives no hint of their actually relationship but in fact gives quite the opposite impression..ewww.

Worst Plot arcAnakin/Darth Vader. I mean, wtf. Any clear eyed observer would have locked Anakin up early as a dangerous psychotic. The Jedi though keep going on about "The Prophecy", so their eyes are closed. But what's up with Padmé? Didn't she get out much? He just seems to go too far too quickly.

Best Space BattleOpening of "Revenge of the Sith". The sequence owes something to "Starship Troopers" (which itself owes something to..etc), but on a much larger scale.

Best Land Battle"Attack of the Clones", The Battle of Geonosis. Very digital but great to watch. Runner up - "The Empire Strikes Back" The Battle of Hoth. Very analog but great to watch.

Best Space Chase"The Empire Strikes Back" - The Falcon chased through the asteroids. I might be wrong, but it is the first use of camera shake in an SX shot.

Best Ground Chase"Attack of the Clones*" Chasing the Bounty Hunter. Runner up - Speeder chase from "Return of the Jedi". The race in "The Phantom Menace" is warmed over Nascar but fits comfortably into the IQ range of its target audience.

* thanks to Juice for pointing out an error here.

Best Lightsaber fight"The Phantom Menace" The Jedi vs. the Sith. The film comes alive for those few moments. Runner up - "The Empire Strikes Back" Luke and Darth's final fight (of this film).

Worst Lightsaber fight"Star Wars". I know, it looked fine in 1977, but really. Your powers are weak, old man. Parts of this sequence were in the running for Worst SFX.

Most Operatic Moment"Revenge of the Sith" Mace Windu breaks a window. The Emperor and Yoda's redecoration of the Senate chamber is a contender as well.

Worst Mismatch between old and newObi Wan and the droids. He doesn't remember haven't owned any droids? Did he have his memory erased too? (Uncle Owen has a similar memory lapse). Runner up - Leia's memory of her mother. Huh? The Midichlorians rank up high up the list of blunders.

Worst AccentOur old friends the Trade Federation again. What were they thinking? I know I though of WWII Japanese villains. Honorabre gentremen excuse prease but we are brockading your pranet. Ah so.

Worst Dialog"Attack of the Clones" Anakin, sand and where it can get to. Ewww. In fact anytime Lucas has his lovers chatting away to each other, it is too painful.

Best Ship"Attack of the Clones" Senator Amidala's shuttle, the one the gets blow away at the beginning. Neo Deco. Great design.

Worst ShipTie Fighters. Look at it, you can't see to the side of you. Not much good in a fight. The Empire's strong point was never design. Two Death Stars blown up? Two? One I can understand.

Worst SciFi moment"Star Wars" Hans Solo: "I made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs." Say what? Even Obi Wan doesn't get it.

Greatest Rip OffJust the one? Coruscant. Direct steal from Issac Asimov's Foundation and its city planet Trantor ("Foundation" was heavily mined by Lucas). Parts of "Star Wars" are a bit Dune-ish as well. In the music department, a theme used in "Star Wars" has reminded me of one from "Star Trek" from the first time I heard it.

Recently the publishers of the Bible have threatened to sue Lucas over the virgin birth storyline.

Most Wasted OpportunityMace Windu. He sits most of the time, nodding and agreeing with Yoda. He does get to kick some ass, but not enough. Runner up - Count Dooku could have been more, oh I don't know, Transilvanian, also how Bobafett meets his end (although this last may better fit under Worst Mismatch).

Worst case of Lucas's love for Nazi themed imageryThe end of "Star Wars". The Rebels have been watching their Leni Riefenstahl, haven't they? It's a triumph if you will.

Best case of Lucas's love for Nazi themed imageryDarth Vader in "Star Wars". From the first second you see him, you know he's bad.

Best Special Edition addition"The Empire Strikes Back" Cloud City. The additions really do add to the story and the film.

Worst Special Edition additionGuido shoots first. Hands down. Stupid move. Audiences howled with agreement at the original version. There's a reason George, get over it. It's only Guido. Others include the dance number at Jabba the Hutt's ("Return of the Jedi")., followed by Luke, Obi Wan and the droids arrival in Mos Eisley in "Star Wars". An unsuccessful layering of digital and real footage (Jabba's appearance in this film is also not entirely successful, no matter how many times they tried and fix it). Hayden Christensen's substitution at the end of "Return of the Jedi" is mildly disturbing.

Best SurpriseHans Solo's return at the end of "Star Wars" or Luke's father's actual identity. Shocking!